Spatial direct numerical simulation of boundary-layer transition mechanisms: Validation of PSE theory

A study of instabilities in incompressible boundary-layer flow on a flat plate is conducted by spatial direct numerical simulation (DNS) of the Navier-Stokes equations. Here, the DNS results are used to evaluate critically the results obtained using parabolized stability equations (PSE) theory and to study mechanisms associated with breakdown from laminar to turbulent flow. Three test cases are considered: two-dimensional Tollmien-Schlichting wave propagation, subharmonic instability breakdown, and oblique-wave breakdown. The instability modes predicted by PSE theory are in good quantitative agreement with the DNS results, except a small discrepancy is evident in the mean-flow distortion component of the two-dimensional test problem. This discrepancy is attributed to far-field boundary-condition differences. Both DNS and PSE theory results show several modal discrepancies when compared with the experiments of subharmonic breakdown. Computations that allow for a small adverse pressure gradient in the basic flow and a variation of the disturbance frequency result in better agreement with the experiments.     

三维扰动波的非平行边界层稳定性研究

导出了三维扰动波的原始变量形式的抛物化稳定性方程（PSE）,研究了三维空间模态TS波的非平行边界层稳定性问题.采用了法向四阶紧致格式,以提高计算精度.通过给出不会导致奇性的坐标变换、修改外边界条件以及克服平行流初始值的瞬态影响和推进步长的限制,保证了计算的数值稳定.用补全元素带状矩阵法求解块三对角矩阵,大大提高了速度.计算结果清楚地显示了三维扰动波的演化过程和非平行性对边界层稳定性的影响,特别是,观察到非平行性对三维扰动波的影响,有时会使其稳定性出现逆转的现象.还研究了逆压梯度的作用.算例的结果与其他结果符合良好.     

PSE as applied to problems of transition in compressible boundary layers

A new idea of using the parabolized stability equation (PSE) method to predict laminar-turbulent transition is proposed. It is tested in the prediction of the location of transition for compressible boundary layers on flat plates, and the results are compared with those obtained by direct numerical simulations (DNS). The agreement is satisfactory, and the reason for this is that the PSE method faithfully reproduces the mechanism leading to the breakdown process in laminar-turbulent transition, i. e., the modification of mean flow profile leads to a remarkable change in its stability characteristics.     

Stability analysis method considering non-parallelism: EPSE method and its application

The e-N method is widely used in transition prediction. The amplitude growth rate used in the e-N method is usually provided by the linear stability theory (LST) based on the local parallel hypothesis. Considering the non-parallelism effect, the parabolized stability equation (PSE) method lacks local characteristic of stability analysis. In this paper, a local stability analysis method considering non-parallelism is proposed, termed as EPSE since it may be considered as an expansion of the PSE method. The EPSE considers variation of the shape function in the streamwise direction. Its local characteristic is convenient for stability analysis. This paper uses the EPSE in a strong non-parallel flow and mode exchange problem. The results agree well with the PSE and the direct numerical simulation (DNS). In addition, it is found that the growth rate is related to the normalized method in the non-parallel flow. Different results can be obtained using different normalized methods. Therefore, the normalized method must be consistent.     

Studies on nonlinear stability of three-dimensional H-type disturbance

The three-dimensional H-type nonlinear evolution process for the problem of boundary layer stability is studied by using a newly developed method called parabolic stability equations (PSE). The key initial conditions for sub-harmonic disturbances are obtained by means of the secondaryinstability theory. The initial solutions of two-dimensional harmonic waves are expressed in Landau expansions. The numerical techniques developed in this paper, including the higher order spectrum method and the more effective algebraic mapping for dealing with the problem of an infinite region, increase the numerical accuracy and the rate of convergence greatly. With the predictor-corrector approach in the marching procedure, the normalization, which is very important for PSE method, is satisfied and the stability of the numerical calculation can be assured. The effects of different pressure gradients, including the favorable and adverse pressure gradients of the basic flow, on the “H-type“ evolution are studied in detail. The results of the three-dimensional nonlinear “H-type“ evolution are given accurately and show good agreement with the data of the experiment and the results of the DNS from the curves of the amplitude variation, disturbance velocity profile and the evolution of velocity.     

Factors affecting the stability of viscous axial flow in annuli with a rotating inner cylinder

Hot-wire measurements are presented of the onset of instability in developed axial flow and in both developing and developed tangential flow caused by inner cylinder rotation in concentric annuli of radius ratio N of 0.909, 0.809 and 0.565 for axial-flow Reynolds numbers (Re) between 86 and 2000. Within assessed uncertainty intervals, the consistency of marginal stability measurements, at four azimuthal locations 90° apart, indicates insensitivity to small variations in gap width; the measurements also confirm the destabilisation of nearly-developed and developed tangential flow identified by Takeuchi and Jankowski¹ with the occurrence at increasing Re of three-dimensional initial disturbances of spiral-vortex form. Comparison with earlier measurements suggests that in particular annuli, destabilisation may be delayed to higher Re by high values of certain geometrical factors, including radius ratio and the resultant end-effects parameter. Stability may also be restored or improved at high Re by reversion to developing tangential flow in which the initial instability is not of spiral-vortex form and where, for given N, the critical Taylor number appears uniquely related to the dimensionless axial co-ordinate. Stability is then generally greatest at low N.     

Flutter and resonances of a flag near a free surface

We investigate the effects of a nearby free surface on the stability of a flexible plate in axial flow. Confinement by rigid boundaries is known to affect flag flutter thresholds and fluttering dynamics significantly, and this work considers the effects of a more general confinement involving a deformable free surface. To this end, a local linear stability is proposed for a flag in axial uniform flow and parallel to a free surface, using one-dimensional beam and potential flow models to revisit this classical fluid–structure interaction problem. The physical behaviour of the confining free surface is characterized by the Froude number, corresponding to the ratio of the incoming flow velocity to that of the gravity waves. After presenting the simplified limit of infinite span (i.e. two-dimensional problem), the results are generalized to include finite-span and lateral confinement effects. In both cases, three unstable regimes are identified for varying Froude number. Rigidly-confined flutter is observed for low Froude number, i.e. when the free surface behaves as a rigid wall, and is equivalent to the classical problem of the confined flag. When the flow and wave velocities are comparable, a new instability is observed before the onset of flutter (i.e. at lower reduced flow speed) and results from the resonance of a structural bending wave and one of the fundamental modes of surface gravity waves. Finally, for large Froude number (low effect of gravity), flutter is observed with significant but passive deformation of the free surface in response of the flag’s displacement.     

Spiral vortices between concentric cylinders

Spiral vortices appearing in Couette-Taylor flows are studied by means of numerical simulation. Transition curves from Couette to spiral vortices for different radius ratios and wavenumbers have been calculated in order to test our technique. Critical Reynolds numbers, angular velocities and slopes of the spirals at the onset of the instability agree with previous results [1]. Non-linear solutions obtained by a pseudospectral collocation method are studied, and they show a weak net axial flow. In order to counteract this effect, which is absent in the usual experimental set-up, an axial pressure gradient has been included. This procedure has proved to be sufficient to make the axial flow negligible. The onset of a quasiperiodic flow for larger Reynolds numbers, corresponding to a secondary bifurcation is also presented.     

Spatial direct numerical simulation of high-speed boundary-layer flows part I: Algorithmic considerations and validation

A highly accurate algorithm for the direct numerical simulation (DNS) of spatially evolving high-speed boundary-layer flows is described in detail and is carefully validated. To represent the evolution of instability waves faithfully, the fully explicit scheme relies on non-dissipative high-order compact-difference and spectral collocation methods. Several physical, mathematical, and practical issues relevant to the simulation of high-speed transitional flows are discussed. In particular, careful attention is paid to the implementation of inflow, outflow, and far-field boundary conditions. Four validation cases are presented, in which comparisons are made between DNS results and results obtained from either compressible linear stability theory or from the parabolized stability equation (PSE) method, the latter of which is valid for nonparallel flows and moderately nonlinear disturbance amplitudes. The first three test cases consider the propagation of two-dimensional second-mode disturbances in Mach 4.5 flat-plate boundary-layer flows. The final test case considers the evolution of a pair of oblique second-mode disturbances in a Mach 6.8 flow along a sharp cone. The agreement between the fundamentally different PSE and DNS approaches is remarkable for the test cases presented.     

Secondary Instabilities of Wakes of a Circular Cylinder Using a Finite Element Method

This study investigates secondary instabilities of periodic wakes of a circular cylinder with infinitely long span. It has been known that after the wake undergoes a supercritical Hopf bifurcation (the primary instability) that leads to two-dimensional von Kantian vorlex street, the secondary instability occurs sequentially, which results in the onset of three-dimensional flow. Williamson (1996) has reviewed that the periodic wakes over a range of moderate Reynolds number from 140 to 300 are characterized by two critical modes. Mode A and Mode B, which are respectively associated with large-scale and fine-scale structures in span. In order to understand a sequence of bifurcation in transitional wake, in this paper, the stability of periodic Row governed by the linearized Navier-Stokes equations is analyzed by using the Floquet stability theory. By employing the finite elemental discretization with a fine mesh, the numerical results for both simulation and stability analysis have high spatio-resolution. The obtained stability results are in good agreement with experimental data and some relevant numerical results. By means of visualizations of the three-dimensionally critical flow structures. the existence of Mode A and Mode B is verified from the spatial structures in both the two modes.     

Computational study of the axial instability of rimming flow using Arnoldi method

Axial instability of rimming flow has been investigated by solving a linear generalized eigenvalue problem that governs the evolution of perturbations of two‐dimensional base flow. Using the Galerkin finite element method, full Navier–Stokes equations were solved to calculate base flow and this base flow was perturbed with three‐dimensional disturbances. The generalized eigenproblem formulated from these equations was solved by the implicitly restarted Arnoldi method using shift‐invert technique. This study presents instability curves to identify the critical wavelength of the neutral mode and the critical β, which measures the importance of gravity relative to viscosity. The axial instability of rimming flow is examined and three‐dimensional flow was reconstructed by using eigenvector and growth rate at a critical wave number. The critical β value in the axial instability analysis was observed to be comparable to the onset β value of the transition between the bump and the homogeneous film state in 2‐D base flow calculations. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cross-flow-induced instability and nonlinear dynamics of cylinder arrays with consideration of initial axial load

The instability and nonlinear dynamics of planar motions of a cylinder array subjected to cross-flow have been studied via a five-mode discretization of the governing partial differential equation, focusing on the effect of initial axial load externally imposed on the cylinder. Theoretical results based on a stability analysis have indicated that, with increasing initial axial load and flow velocity, the system may lose stability either via flutter or via buckling. The boundaries of these two forms of instability are predicted analytically. To explore the post-instability dynamics of the system, a Runge–Kutta scheme is used to solve the nonlinear governing equation of motion. Three typical behaviors, including limit cycle motions of the system, are obtained. It is shown that, for relatively low flow velocity, with increasing initial axial load, just beyond the pitchfork bifurcation the cylinder would settle in a buckled equilibrium position; and for high flow velocity, however, this phenomenon only occurs when the initial axial load becomes sufficiently large.     

Experiments on the stability of an impulsively-initiated circular Couette flow

Experiments were performed to study the stability characteristics of an unsteady circular Couette flow generated by an impulsive stop of the outer cylinder; the initial condition was a state of rigid-body rotation. Instability of the unsteady basic state is manifested by Görtler vortices, which themselves become unstable to longer-wavelength disturbances, or Taylor vortices which persist indefinitely. The quantities of primary interest are the onset time of instability, the axial vortex wavelength at onset, and the time-evolution of this wavelength. A one-dimensional photodiode array is used to gather data from the flow, which is seeded with flow-visualization material. At sufficiently high values of the Reynolds number, the influence of the inner cylinder on the onset of instability is negligible, based on comparisons with previous experimental data.     

Analysis and application of ellipticity of stability equations on fluid mechanics

By using characteristic analysis of the linear and nonlinear parabolic stability equations ( PSE), PSE of primitive disturbance variables are proved to be parabolic intotal. By using sub- characteristic analysis of PSE, the linear PSE are proved to be elliptical and hyperbolic-parabolic for velocity U, in subsonic and supersonic, respectively; the nonlinear PSE are proved to be elliptical and hyperbolic-parabolic for relocity U + u in subsonic and supersonic., respectively . The methods are gained that the remained ellipticity is removed from the PSE by characteristic and sub-characteristic theories , the results for the linear PSE are consistent with the known results, and the influence of the Mach number is also given out. At the same time , the methods of removing the remained ellipticity are further obtained from the nonlinear PSE .     

Flow pattern and stability of pseudoplastic axial Taylor–Couette flow

The effect of an axial flow on the stability of the Taylor–Couette flow is explored for pseudoplastic fluids. The fluid is assumed to follow the Carreau–Bird model and mixed boundary conditions are imposed while the axial flow can be independent of rotational flow. The four-dimensional low-order dynamical system, resulted from Galerkin projection of the conservation of mass and momentum equations, includes additional non-linear terms in the velocity components originated from the shear-dependent viscosity. In absence of axial flow the base flow loses its radial flow stability to the vortex structure at a lower critical Taylor number, as the pseudoplasticity effects increases. The emergence of the vortices corresponds to the onset of a supercritical bifurcation which is also seen in the flow of a linear fluid. However, unlike the Newtonian case, pseudoplastic Taylor vortices lose their stability as the Taylor number reaches a second critical number corresponding to the onset of a Hopf bifurcation. Existence of an axial flow, induced by a pressure gradient appears to further advance each critical point on the bifurcation diagram. Complete flow field together with viscosity maps are given for stability regions in the bifurcation diagram.     

Spatio-temporal instability of two-layer liquid film at small Reynolds numbers

The onset of instability with respect to the spatio-temporally growing disturbance in a viscosity-stratified two-layer liquid film flow is analyzed. The known results obtained from the temporal theory of instability show that the flow is unstable in the limit of zero Reynolds numbers. The present theory predicts the neutral stability in the same limit. The discrepancy is explained. Based on the mechanical energy equation, a new mechanism of instability is found. The new mechanism is associated with the convective nature of the disturbance that is not Galilei invariant.     

Influence of swirl on the stability of a rod in annular leakage flow

The influence of swirl (flow rotation) on the stability of a rod in annular leakage flow is investigated. Under the assumption of laminar flow and plane vibrations (no whirling), it is shown that the swirl acts, in effect, as an elastic foundation with negative foundation stiffness, the magnitude being proportional to the mean circumferential flow rate squared. Consequently, swirl always lowers the critical axial flow speed in case of divergence instability of a rod of finite length. Numerical analysis is needed to predict the effect of swirl in case of flutter instability of a finite rod; this is not performed here. However, for the flutter-like instability of travelling waves in an infinite rod-channel system, it is shown analytically that swirl again always lowers the critical axial flow speed. Finally, it is found that by circumferential flow alone, the travelling waves are extinguished at a certain flow rate, followed by a divergence-like instability.     

On Rayleight instability in decaying plane Couette flow

The inflexion point criterion of Rayleigh is one of the most well-known results in hydrodynamic stability theory but cannot easily be demonstrated experimentally in wall bounded flows. For plane Couette flow, where both walls move with equal speed in opposite directions, it is possible to establish a (time-dependent) inflectional velocity profile if both walls are brought momentarily to rest. If the Reynolds number is high enough a growing stationary instability develops. This situation is ideally suited for flow visualization of the instability. In this paper we show flow visualization experiments and stability calculations of the developing transverse roll cell instability in such a flow at low Reynolds numbers. Although the stability calculations are based on a quasi-stationary velocity profile, the measured and most amplified wave length obtained from the calculations are in excellent agreement.     

Applications of parabolized stability equation for predicting transition position in boundary layers

The phenomenon of laminar-turbulent transition exists universally in nature and various engineering practice.The prediction of transition position is one of crucial theories and practical problems in fluid mechanics due to the different characteristics of laminar flow and turbulent flow.Two types of disturbances are imposed at the entrance,i.e.,identical amplitude and wavepacket disturbances,along the spanwise direction in the incompressible boundary layers.The disturbances of identical amplitude are consisted of one two-dimensional(2D) wave and two three-dimensional(3D) waves.The parabolized stability equation(PSE) is used to research the evolution of disturbances and to predict the transition position.The results are compared with those obtained by the numerical simulation.The results show that the PSE method can investigate the evolution of disturbances and predict the transition position.At the same time,the calculation speed is much faster than that of the numerical simulation.     

Verification of parabolized stability equations for its application to compressible boundary layers

Parabolized stability equations (PSE) were used to study the evolution of disturbances in compressible boundary layers.The results were compared with those ob- tained by direct numerical simulations (DNS),to check if the results from PSE method were reliable or not.The results of comparison showed that no matter for subsonic or supersonic boundary layers,results from both the PSE and DNS method agreed with each other reasonably well,and the agreement between temperatures was better than those between velocities.In addition,linear PSE was used to calculate the neutral curve for small amplitude disturbances in a supersonic boundary layer.Compared with those obtained by linear stability theory (LST),the situation was similar to those for incom- pressible boundary layer.